Treetops and Earthdwellers: The Journey
by AC-Rocks
Summary: Book 1 of Tree-tops and Earth-dwellers. First co-written story on our joint account  Mormeril and Sky'sFire . Tree-tops and Earth-dwellers have always hated each other, but now they must co-operate or die on a journey that will change their world. r&r
1. Prologue

__**Hello. This was originally my (Sky'sFire - formerly Poppystream) idea. I decided to re-write it with Mormeril (formerly Aduial Rana, but that was several months ago, people just know me as Mormeril now). But don't worry - it still has all of the original characters!**

**Mormeril: And new characters, too!**

**Sky'sFire: Well, DUH!**

**Mormeril: 1: Stop using caps lock all the time, seriously. 2: Just saying!**

**Sky'sFire: 1: Make me! 2: I realize that. Now, start the story!**

**Mormeril: *grumbles under breath***

Tree-tops and Earth-dwellers: The Journey

_Prologue_

Meadow stalked forward, her eyes narrowed. Her attention was fixed entirely on a tiny creature scuffling among the leaves not three tail lengths ahead of her. Her muscles suddenly tensed, and she kicked up off the ground.

Meadow's paws landed directly on the mouse, crushing it. She killed it with a swift bite to the back of the neck. She picked it up gently between her jaws, trying not to make it bleed. Meadow then padded through a thickly packed bush, growling under her breath as she lost a few strands of blue fur.

Leaving the bush behind her, Meadow broke into a run, her paws barely making any noise as they flew over the ground. She loved the feeling of the fresh air blasting into her face, and she started to run faster.

Her run was cut short when a dark shape suddenly hurled itself out of the bushes and onto her path. Meadow crashed into the strange cat at full pelt, unable to slow down in time. Her mouse flew from her jaws, flying through the air and landing in a bush out of sight. Meadow untangled herself from the other cat, and leaped backward as its horribly familiar scent flooded her nose.

_Earth-dweller!_ The words shrieked in her head, and her fur was suddenly fluffed out with anger. She barely registered the fact that she was in unfamiliar territory. Territory that had tunnels snaking beneath the earth, stretching out farther than Meadow had ever ventured in her life.

The Earth-dweller had a similar reaction. He narrowed his amber eyes at her, baring a set of very long, very sharp teeth.

It was at that moment that Meadow became aware of where she was. Her stomach twisted into fearful knots. How had she not noticed how far she had gone? Wandering into Earth-dweller territory was one of the worst things a Tree-top could do. She took a step back, noticing with a flash of despair that there were suddenly multiple pairs of eyes staring out of the bushes at her.

_Uh-oh._

* * *

><p>The brown tabby tom was sunning himself happily on rocks near a river. It was a beautiful day, nice and warm, with a fresh breeze. The sun was shining brightly amongst the numerous clouds in the sky.<p>

He was debating whether or not he should go hunt when an odd scent stuck him. _Tree-top!_ He tried unsuccessfully to leap to his paws, the effort resulting in him dumping himself in the river. _Mouse-dung!_ he snarled at himself in annoyance.

He hauled himself slowly out of the river, which took much longer than it should have, except for that he kept slipping back in.

He ended up running as quickly as possible straight into a tree, nearly knocking himself out. He shook his head, then ran again, somewhat more carefully, hoping he wouldn't slip on rocks or trip. Luckily, he didn't.

Another scent struck him, and he skidded to a halt just in time to avoid running into his friend Night.

"Hey Night, do you know where the trespasser is?" he asked.

"Yeah," Night meowed, gazing at something in front of him. "Right here." There was a small blue furred she-cat crouched in front of him. She was glaring at the cats around her.

"Oh," was all that Brann meowed in response. He quickly crouched and tried to look as threatening and menacing as he possibly could, but all it did was make him look like an idiot. "Rawr!" he meowed at the she-cat. "Get off of our territory, Tree-brain!"

"It's Tree-top, you Earth-dweller fool!" The she-cat

"Oh, uh, yeah, Tree-top! That's what I meant!" he meowed quickly, ducking his head and shuffling his paws. He wouldn't have been surprised if the she-cat rolled her eyes at him. He had a feeling that most of the Earth-dwellers there were upset about him.

"Yeah? Well get it right next time, you mouse-brain!" The she-cat retorted. Night rolled his eyes at his friend. "Brann, just shut up."

Brann didn't respond, but kept his head down. He wished that he was more intelligent. He knew that he was the laughing stock of the Earth-dwellers, especially since he would sometimes rather stupidly let his pacifism show.

Eventually, he raised his head again and bared his teeth, trying to look menacing, even though he knew he probably just looked like a total idiot.

Meadow stared at Brann. He looked like a total idiot. Her whiskers twitched, and she tried not to let a snort of laughter escape. She rose up from her crouch, baring her teeth and letting an angry snarl tear itself out of her throat. She took a step toward Brann.

Brann leaped back, fear creeping into his amber eyes as she stepped towards him. His pelt began to fluff up in his terror.

Night intercepted Meadow, growling. "Back off," he snarled.

Meadow turned to him. She knew she was badly outnumbered. Her only chance was escape. So that's what she did. Turning, she darted back the way she came, leaving Night and Brann behind her. She was almost certain that one of them would give chase, but she didn't look back.

She darted through unfamiliar land, weaving skillfully around the trees and undergrowth. Only when she was certain that she had left the Earth-dwellers behind did she slow her pace, and then eventually stopped completely.

Panting, Meadow flopped onto her side, trying to catch her breath. She closed her eyes, and slowly her rapidly pounding heart slowed.

Laying there on the grass, surrounded by trees, Meadow began to drift in and out of consciousness. Then a distant voice called out her name, breaking the pleasant silence. Meadow shuffled to her paws, feeling groggy and sleepy.

Her eyes focused on a gray and black blurred shape. She blinked several times, trying to clear her vision.

The black and gray shape became her brother, Smoke. She blinked at her brother. "Smoke?" She meowed, bewildered. "What are you doing here?"

Her brother rolled his amber eyes at her. "Hunting. What does it look like?" He padded over to her, and dropped the mouse that he had been carrying. "Wanna share?" He asked suddenly.

Meadow's stomach growled. Smoke's whiskers twitched in amusement. "I'll take that as a yes," he meowed. Meadow was to focused to the warm-smelling mouse to respond to her brother's teasing. She practically pounced on the prey, and started gulping down huge mouthfuls. Before she knew it, the entire thing was gone, and she was licking her lips in satisfaction.

"Hey! I said _share, _you mouse-brain!" Smoke growled in mock-anger. Meadow looked up at him and purred, "Oops. I guess you'll just have to catch another."

"Oh, no. I'm not. You can catch me my meal, since you refused to share." Smoke meowed, his tail twitching. Meadow casually licked her paw. "Me? I think you're mistaken. I don't catch food for others." She then started to groom her pelt.

Smoke narrowed his eyes, starting to get truly annoyed. "Look, Meadow. I didn't have to share that mouse with you in the first place. It's only fair that you should-" He was cut off by distant, furious yowling.

Heartbeats later, several cats raced into the clearing, their fur bristling and their lips drawn back into fearsome snarls. The black furred Earth-dweller tom was in the lead.

A golden and light brown tabby she-cat with blue-green eyes raced to find her friends. She was a Tree-tops she-cat, and she had caught the scent of Earth-dwellers on the Tree-tops territory. She paused for a moment, and scented the air. Meadow and Smoke weren't very far off.

She started to run again, and soon saw them. The Earth-dwellers were right in front of them.

"Meadow! Smoke!" she yowled, racing over to them.

Smoke's head snapped around to look at her, his amber eyes wide. "Laurel!" Meadow glared at the Earth-dwellers, not taking her gaze away from the black-furred tom.

"I scented Earth-dwellers; looks like you guys found them." Laurel's eyes narrowed slightly as she glared at the Earth-dwellers. "Do you need held dealing with the dirt-pelts?"

Meadow unsheathed her claws. "Sure. These cowards don't know how to fight anyway, just run away and hide in the dirt." At her words, the Earth-dweller tom, Night, glared at her furiously, taking a step forward.

Laurel _mrrowed_ with laughter at her friend's words, then narrowed her eyes as Night stepped forward. "Get out of here, dirt-pelt. This is _tree-top_ territory."

Another Earth-dweller tom, glanced at Night. "Let's listen to her and just get out of here, Night. Its not worth it," he muttered.

Laurel's ear twitched. "Yes, _Night_. Listen to your reasonable friend."

Night's eyes narrowed, and he growled deep in his throat. "Why should we leave? We're as entitled to be here as the Tree-_brains_ are."

Laurel's claws unsheathed and she crouched down, taking a step forward aggressively. "You most certainly are _not_!" she hissed. "This is Tree-top territory. You are Earth-dwellers, dirt-pelt. Get out. _Now_."

Meadow growled in agreement, and Smoke nodded. Night's reaction was to crouch down also, hissing in fury. "I'll make you change your mind," he spat, about to spring.

Laurel hissed furiously and leaped at him, claws unsheathed.

Night responded instantly, also leaping. Meadow and Smoke crouched, ready for battle.

Laurel sank her claws into his shoulders as they met in mid air, her teeth latched onto him, sinking into the place where his neck and shoulder met.

Night hissed in pain and in rage, clawing randomly at her. He caught her in a vicious blow to her flank. Smoke stiffened as he watched, and Meadow hurled herself into the two-cat battle, ripping Night away from her friend.

Laurel screeched as fur and flesh were ripped away from her flank, making blood well and flow freely from the open wound. She hissed as Meadow tore him away from her, and she charged at the two, determined to pay Night back in kind.

Night faced the two angry she-cats bravely, hissing and rearing up on his hind legs, lashing out at them as they approached.

"Get out of our territory _now_, dirt-pelt. Or else," Laurel hissed as she reared, paws striking his chest and knocking him over backwards, pinning him down with Meadow's help. Her bright blue-green eyes were as vicious and angry as her tone of voice.

Night hissed and writhed, but he couldn't escape. "Well, you flea-pelts, you'll have to let me get up." He snarled at them after struggling some more. Meadow flattened her ears to her head, bristling at the insult. "Shut up!" She snarled, extending her claws against his throat.

Laurel nodded. "But you will have to leave immediately after we let you up, or else we _will_ kill you," she hissed, ears flattened against her skull in her fury.

Night nodded. But Meadow had a different thought in mind. "Why should we him go?" She hissed to Laurel. "We should just kill him right now!" She dug her claws into his flesh, and fresh blood welled around the new wounds.

Laurel shook her head. "What honour is there in pure viciousness? Mercy is honour. We are better than they are because of it. Do you really want to sink to their level, Meadow?" she asked her friend, sheathing her claws and stepping back, her head dipping respectfully as she moved to stand by Smoke.

Meadow continued to glare into her enemy's eyes, fury rolling off of her in waves, so strong that Night could actually feel them. He felt a flash of fear. What if this cat actually killed him? She looked angry enough to do it. Eventually, Meadow sheathed her claws and stepped away as well, but her eyes were still murderously angry. She turned raced across the clearing, disappearing into the bracken, not bothering to even look at Laurel and Smoke. Night watched her go, eyes narrowed.

"We have shown you mercy, _Earth-dwellers_. I expect you to do the honourable thing and do the same. Go back to your home and leave us," Laurel told Night, her eyes serious, although not narrowed. She touched her tail to Smoke's flank and walked away calmly, not looking back.

Smoke followed her, looking back at the Earth-dwellers as he went. Eventually, Night turned and padded back to his own cats, pushing past them and out of sight. They soon followed, casting uneasy glances at where the Tree-tops had disappeared, as if they thought their enemies would come racing after them.

Laurel sighed and turned to look at Smoke. "Why would they enter our territory like that, for no reason? It makes no sense."

Smoke opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off again, this time by his sister, as she emerged from the bushes. "It was my fault. I accidentally trespassed into theirs, first." Her blue eyes were still glowing with anger, but it didn't show in her voice.

"Why would you do that, Meadow?" asked Laurel, eyes widened in horror.

"It wasn't on purpose. I was hunting, and I guess I got lost." Meadow shrugged, as if it didn't matter. Smoke narrowed his eyes at his sister, and growled, "That was an irresponsible thing to do. You should be more careful."

Laurel stepped between the two. "It doesn't matter, what's done is done. They're gone now. We all have to be careful. Now come on, let's head back to camp."

Meadow gave her friend a long look, and then sighed in agreement. She had had enough of adventure for today. But something told her today was only the beginning.


	2. Chapter 1

**Mormeril: Why are there no reviews? *glares***

**Sky'sFire: Yeah! Why, people? Don't you like us? :(**

**Mormeril: In the meantime, please read this. And review. And vote on our poll on whether or not we should wright a comical LOTR fanfic. What the heck. If you don't care enough to review, like you'll bother voting. But please do. *puss in boots face***

**Chapter 1**

Nalya sat in a tree, gazing down at the Earth-Dwellers' camp. The idiot mousebrains had trespassed on the territory of the Tree-tops. She _mrrowed_ with laughter as they argued about whether or not the Tree-brains' would attack them. She then hopped to a branch on another tree, showering them with pine-needles and leaves. One of them, a tom whose name she believed was Night, looked up, and their eyes met.

_Foxdung!_ She began to scramble from branch to branch, then suddenly, she was running through the air above a clearing where Night just happened to have followed her to. _Great Spirits!_

She landed on all four paws and bolted, hearing his angry yowls following her, growing closer to her as she ran.

"Hey! You! Stop!" Night snarled loudly after Nalya. As he got close, he snapped his sharp teeth at her tail.

She shrieked in fear and ran faster, blood pounding in her ears in her terror. She saw a tree and began to climb as quickly as she could, claws scraping at the wood.

Night snarled, skidding to a stop at the base of the tree. His blue eyes blazed angrily.

"What? Can't even drag me down from the tree, Earth-dweller? I am only a few inches away from you," she taunted, scrambling a little higher, her gray tabby tail waving tauntingly.

Night's tail fluffed out. "I'm not afraid to climb up there, you know," he growled, and suddenly shot up the tree at a speed that was shocking for a cat that lives in the earth. He stopped when he was one branch lower than Nalya. He batted at her tail, claws unsheathed.

Nalya hissed at him and shot up higher. "Too high for you yet, dirt-face?" she taunted.

"No way!" Night spat, lunging after her, sending leaves and bark showering down. He clawed his way up, slipping once and dangled in mid-air, before recovering and with a fierce snarl, shot up until he was on the same branch as Nalya.

Nalya _mrrowed_ with laughter again and raced up further. "I had no clue that your kind could climb, Night!" she meowed, clearly impressed.

Night froze. "You know my name?" He growled, eyes widening.

She purred. "Yeah, I've been watching you for ages now. Ever since you entered Tree-top territory. But don't worry, I'm just a rogue, not a 'Tree-brain' as you call them."

Night's eyes widened even more, and then narrowed. "Watching me, hmm?" He echoed. "What about those Tree-tops? Do you watch them, too?" He asked, mind straying to a certain small blue Tree-tops she-cat. What had her name been? His thoughts were reflected in his eyes.

She shrugged slightly. "I just watch whatever happens to interest me. I assume you haven't heard of the Mountain Cats before. I've watched them, too. Then I got bored and wandered here. You two are very interesting. Tree-tops and Earth-dwellers, the mortal enemies who are constantly fighting. Never have I seen anything quite so fascinating as two groups such as yours entirely at war with each other." Her amber eyes flickered and gleamed with interest and amusement. "I find it amusing to watch others." Her lips twitched slightly.

Night blinked. "There's a story behind the Tree-tops and Earth-dwellers you know. We're not just two random groups of cats fighting over territory."

"Oh, is there now?" she mewed, sounding interested. "Tell me. I'm curious now. If you want, we can get out of this tree to help you feel more comfortable," she meowed, turning the last part of her comment into a taunt.

Night's eyes flared up indignantly. "No, I'm perfectly comfortable here," he growled. Then he looked up at the sky, and started his story. "It all started with four groups of wild cats, known as 'Clans'. They were ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, and RiverClan. Each Clan had their own territory, prey, and living styles. They lived fairly peacefully for moons and moons, following the code their warrior ancestors set down for them. These ancestors called themselves 'StarClan'." Night paused, and then continued, "But then, the Dark Forest – the place where evil cats go when they die – started to get hungry for vengeance on StarClan, so they started training cats from the four Clans. There was a big battle between StarClan cats and Dark Forest cats, and many lives were ended. The Clans disbanded, the surviving cats scattering, turning rogue. But some cats refused to turn away from StarClan. They banded together, trying to contact their ancestors, with no success." Night took another breath. "At the same time, Dark Forest followers also banded together, enemies of StarClan. The two groups fled their current home, looking for a new home, hoping to restart what they had lost. But the two groups constantly clashed, and they became eternal enemies." Night stopped.

"And here we are. Earth-dwellers, we're supposedly 'Dark Forest' followers, while the Tree-tops are StarClan believers. But neither of us have heard anything from our 'ancestors' since the day the original Clans were lost." Night sighed. "It's in my blood to hate Tree-tops, because my ancestors did." He shook his head, and then licked his chest fur.

Nalya's head tilted. "It's interesting to hear that story from the perspective of one of the descendants of the original Tree-tops and Earth-dwellers," she mewed. "It gave me a whole new way of looking at that story."

Night blinked. "You've heard our story before? Where?" His hostility had all but disappeared, but he was still wary.

"My father," she replied, wondering where to begin about her father. She hoped he wouldn't ask.

"Your father? Who was he?" Night asked, thinking about his own father, and then shaking the thoughts away angrily. His father was a traitor.

"He was a halfling. Half Tree-top, half Earth-dweller. So I guess you could call him a Tree-dweller or Earth-top." She purred in amusement at her amalgamation of the two titles. Her eyes then grew serious as she remembered the story her father had once told her.

"His mother was a Tree-top, and his father an Earth-dweller. Yet they somehow fell in love, despite the hatred. The Tree-tops were somewhat more accepting than the Earth-dwellers were about this. They invited him to join them, but he refused, as the Earth-dwellers had forbidden him from being with her, and threatened to kill them both if he left. Yet they remained in love. His mother eventually began to expect kits. The Earth-dwellers were furious when they found out who the father was, as it was the Earth-dweller she loved. The Tree-tops were sorrowful, as they knew it could only end in tragedy. And they were right."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "The Earth-dwellers began to form a plot to kill her. The day the kits were going to be born, she snuck out to find her mate. She was halfway to the border when the kits began to arrive. The Earth-dweller tom who was her mate found her and helped her. All five kits were safe and healthy. Then the other Earth-dwellers arrived. They began to attack, but the she-cat's sister had been watching and alerted the other Tree-tops. There was a massive battle, and the Earth-dweller tom and the Tree-top she-cat were both killed. The kits survived though, all five of them. Two toms and three she-cats. The two groups began to argue, but eventually agreed to divide up the kits and raise them in safety. Each would get a tom and a she-cat. The extra she-cat went with the Tree-tops, for the Tree-tops were more accepting But they hated the Earth-dwellers for the tragedy that they had caused due to their hatred. My father was the tom that went with the Tree-tops. He eventually left, not feeling like he belonged there. Apparently one of his sisters has taken a Tree-top mate and has a few healthy kits. The other sister that went with him has no mate and likes solitude. She is supposedly slightly insane due to her heritage." She sighed. "I don't know about the two kits who went with the Earth-dwellers, though." She then remained silent after finishing her story.

Night blinked. "I see," was all he said. "My own father was a Tree-top, my mother an Earth-dweller." He meowed. "My mother was always treated a bit different though, almost as if she wasn't completely..." then a thought occurred to Night, and he stopped, eyes growing very wide.

Nalya's head tilted curiously. "What is it?" she asked, curious and confused. Then she understood slightly. "Wait, do you think that your mother is..?" Her eyes were wide in wonder and curiosity, shining brightly.

"Maybe. It could be because she was a halfling herself," he meowed, throwing a meaningful glance at Nalya, "or because she took a Tree-top mate. Or both."

"I wouldn't be surprised. Did they know who her mate was?" Nalya asked. Her ear flicked in curiosity, her eyes still bright and gleaming with her desire to know.

"Just some cat from the Tree-tops," Night responded. "Nothing special."

"Hmm...," Nalya growled slightly, unsure of what to say in response. "Well, if you don't mind, I think that I'll be going now," she meowed after a moment, standing and turning to leap off of the branch to the ground.

Night blinked, shocked at himself. Had he really just had a conversation with this intruder like she was one of his friends? He shook himself, and then looked around, realizing, too late, that Nalya had already jumped off of the branch. He looked down just in time to watch her vanish into the undergrowth. He shook his head slowly and jumped down, first intending to follow her. Then he thought better of it, and turned away to go home.

Nalya smirked as she glanced back at the Earth-dweller who was leaving. She had cleverly avoided capture and being killed by conversing with the irritating tom. She was rather pleased with herself. Her tail flicked in contentment. She was free to go where she pleased once again.

And yet, she had the strange feeling that she would be meeting the Earth-dweller tom again soon. She shrugged; like it mattered. She was all alone again for now, which she liked. She then charged off into nowhere.

**Three reviews or no more for you! ~Mormeril**


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